Whispers Scarcely Heard
by Stigmergy
Summary: Hogwarts AU- all magic/ Arthur, Gwen, Morgana, and Merlin are all at Hogwarts. Years 1-7. summary sucks. Takes place during the time of the actual Arthurian legend (6th century). Harry Potter and Merlin Rules apply. Ships Mergana and Arwen. To reiterate this summary sucks and I apologize most profusely. Rated T... perhaps. From an acorn with love.
1. At First Sight

**Whispers Scarcely Heard **

Chapter One

At First Sight

* * *

"Morgana!"

She was being yelled at and she could not think why. Morgan Le Fey, Morgana as she was more widely acknowledged was a girl of approximately 11 years of age, with long silky raven black hair and brilliant jade eyes. With a sigh of mild bemusement she made departed from her place perched atop her lone windowsill. Sluggishly she made her way out of her room and past the many doors within the east passageway.

For whatever reason Uther was calling her, and being the ever so dutiful Ward she is, she had no other option than to acquiesce.

"My Lord you called."

He was sitting at the head of the Pendragon's embellished dining room table a glass of wine in one hand as the other rests on the table's surface. Silver has glistening in the rays of light coming in from the window, the scare above his eye white in the direct light

"So you're awake" there is a hint of a smirk on his marred face. "At least your not as hopeless as Arthur, but I suppose you could use the excuse of beauty sleep." this elicited zero response from Morgana "girls always doing trivial activities, while us men are… not that… what I mean to say-"

"My Lord was there any purpose to my summons" she cuts across the patriarch's trepidatious rambling, she has to admit that she is a bit taken aback by his uncharacteristically timid manner.

"As I alluded to previously, I was wondering if you were awake, and if not, my purpose would have been to waken you." he said straightening himself up with his usual air of confidence "As you know we are to leave in a hours and you need time to get ready."

At the mention of their departure Morgana brightened visibly and she was filled with excitement in a way which only children can. She was going to Hogwarts and that is all that mattered. No, not even the fact that her annoying adoptive brother would be attending aswell.

"Yes my Lord I will go and get ready right now." she hurriedly curtsied in an effort to go back upstairs.

"We will be leaving from the carriages in London in two hours. Don't be late." He called after her "Oh, make sure Arthur is awake would you."

* * *

Merlin awoke with a start from the sound of the city outside his window were unfamiliar atmosphere of London. The Sounds of Town were new and strange to the Tall and gangly farm boy.

The room was bright and dingy and obviously not his own as it had the uniform neatness of a lent one. The boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes as his dark hair stuck up in different directions, his eyes opened to reveal startling azure eyes.

Next to him on his left were a trunk and an owl. The trunk was an old dusty green, second hand, and the bird was a large barn owl, given to him by his mother so he could keep in contact. On his right was a table no more than a foot in diameter and on it rested a letter. The letter was folded and unfolded so many times the wrinkled parchment left the words nearly illegible.

_Merlin Ambrosius,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and Equipment._

_Lessons begin the first day of this September. We will wait for your answer no later than the last July eve._

_Most graciously,_

_Gaius_

_Deputy Headmaster_

It came as quite a shock to merlin to get such a letter, he had no knowledge that his powers were magic, and as a result he read and reread the letter more tine than anyone could care to count. His mother however seemed to expect this an merlin finally got some answers regarding his genealogy.

His mother was apparently a squib, a person born of magical heritage with no magical abilities. She was born to one of the most prominent magical families of the day, who was then shunned when it was discovered she had no divine gifts. He got no knowledge of his father other than he was a very powerful wizard.

So here Merlin is in a room in London, alone. Expected to get himself to the Hogwarts carriages, to finally get hold of his abilities.

He got ready in five minutes flat, energized by the realization that today was the day. And he was out the door trying to tame his unruly hair. Twenty minutes till the carriages arrived 50 till they left.

* * *

"Did you have to poor water all over me?" Arthur inquired of Morgana, still grumbling over the events of 90 minutes ago.

"Your father told me to wake you up and I tried other ways, but… if you wanted me to disappoint your father" she shrugged as a small amused smirk played at her lips.

"I would have gotten up" the boy responded insistently. No one believed him.

Arthurs blond hair was still damp from said earlier situation and the pale hair stuck to his forehead ant ears as he made no movement to reposition it.

Morgana grew tired of her sulky companion and left him to brood, as she gazed out the window to the wood beyond. By then they were no more than five minutes away from the station and she was growing increasingly more bored and anxious, an interesting combination.

"What house do you think you will be in?" Arthur broke the silence much to the happiness of Morgana.

"I don't know" she spoke truthfully. Her brow furrowed she hadn't the slightest inkling, and not knowing ,not even having a guess, worried her.

" I want to be in Gryffindor, you know, where dwell the brave at heart. I know that is no what father got but… I don't know" Arthur gradually became less and less confident with each word he uttered. Morgana felt sorry for Arthur all he wanted was for Uther to be proud of him. She did not understand that all she wanted was for Uther to leave her alone.

"Well that seems like you. I am sure you will do well wherever you go"

"You to Miss Perfect you would fit in anywhere" he replied teasingly.

"Miss perfect? Fit in anywhere?"

"You can do nothing wrong in fathers eyes." That was not true but Arthur did not know that. "and" he continued " you are brave like a Gryffindor, you always stand up for the other children when I am being mean," She smiled at that _so he admits it_ "You are loyal like a Hufflepuff, You are intelligent like a Ravenclaw, and cunning like a Slytherin, you little devil." He ended lightly

Morgana was shocked rarely was Arthur so nice. It was unsettling. Where was the brash idiot that she developed brotherly affection for?

"Prince Arthur, Lady Morgana, we have arrived." Unnoticed by either of them the arrived in London leaving their carriage for the schools.

* * *

There was nothing to do but wait silently in the carriage when Merlin arrived. He found this to be rather dull. He found a coach close to the entrance and situated himself so he could look at the greenery. His seat was in the front of the carriage and farthest away from the door. His trunk was underneath his seat and his owl was between his legs.

Merlin was in a carriage with one other person even though it seated four. The other person in with him sat across and to his left, she had curly dark brown hair and skin darker than most, with a kind face and nervous demeanor. She was way more nervous even then what Merlin felt which I saying a lot.

"Hello… I am Merlin." He says hesitantly as his hand extends to the girl in greeting. "What is your name?"

"Guinevere but people just call me Gwen." the girl said taking Merlin's outstretched hand.

"A pleasure to meet you Gwen" he said with a smile "do you know how long the journey takes?"

Just as she was about to answer the door opened two silhouettes stood in the doorway.

"Hurry up Morgana." urged Arthur as they lugged their trunks behind them "All the compartments are filling up we will not be able to find seats at this rate."

"Stop being so dramatic Arthur we have ten minutes."

They stopped at the quietest compartment they could find luckily enough it was one of the closest carriages to them. Arthur being several inches taller than morgana peeked through to see the inside there were only two people seated in the compartment. Arthur was relieved they found seats so quickly. He opened the door startling its occupants.

"This compartment is mostly empty let's sit here"

Arthur entered the carriage first hoisting up his then Morgana's trunk and tucking them beneath two different benches. Arthur took the seat closest to the girl. When sitting he accidently brushed against her causing them both to jump a little and blush. Arthur murmured his apology.

Morgana clambered in next albeit hesitantly, though she had no problem with strangers she and Arthur did burst in rather rudely. She quickly situated herself next to the boy but as far away as possible to avoid Arthur's faux pas.

The carriage was silent for a few moments. Morgana took this time to survey her fellow coach-mates. The boy, facing away from her, was long and lanky with short blue-black hair, much like her own, and rather funny ears from what she could see he also had an owl with him, Barn she thinks. The girl however Morgana could see quite well, she had a kind face and melt your heart chocolate brown eyes. Sadly, Arthur cut her observations short.

"So…" he began way to loudly "H-How is everyone today?" Morgana groaned internally _really Arthur, nice introduction._

"Quite all right thanks, and you" the boy to Morgana's right spoke up. There was a bit of sarcasm to his voice she doubted Arthur would pick up on it.

"All good, all good" he replied. Morgana was correct Arthur did not pick up on the sarcasm. It was a conscious effort for Morgana to not laugh. "What about you?" Arthur directed this question to the still blushing girl.

"Fine"

"What is your name" He continued in an effort to keep her talking.

"Gwen"

"I am Arthur, Arthur Pendragon. This is my adoptive sister Morgan Le Fey, she is just called Morgana"

"Thank you Arthur for that wonderful introduction but I believe you will find me quit capable of speech" she had to but in. her comment made the boy beside her snort with amusement and to that Arthur took offence.

"And you are?" he questioned "but a pig I presume from your aversion to snorts." Arthur was quite proud of himself for that one.

"Aye, I'm but a lowly hog destined to roll in the muck at your feet and eat your quick wit. Sadly from that I shall surely starve. He said with a wide smile. His eyes then caught Morgana's.

All air was taken from his lungs, the vestiges cleared as Azure met Jade. She to found it hard to breath with their eyes locked, her brain was cleared of any and all thought. Without breaking eye contact the boy spoke.

"My name is Merlin."

* * *

A/N: GOOD? BAD? HORRIBLE?

Please review, your thoughts are appreciated.


	2. Journey to Fantastic

**Whispers Scarcely Heard **

Chapter Two

Journey to Fantastic

* * *

The carriages left when expected with their usual jolt signifying the start. The remainder of the time waiting for the start of the journey was rather uneventful, as it was spent in awkward silence and the avoidance of eye contact.

Morgana and Merlin had no idea of the reason behind their reactions. After their little… moment, Morgana looked away hurriedly to gaze out her window. Merlin, on the other hand, remained gazing at the same spot seemingly in a state of stupor, and was only engendered by Arthur "coughing".

Morgana was deep in thought, _what just happened,_ she was particularly distressed over what happened, what elicited that reaction from her. These thoughts and more whirled through her head as she watched the other children file into coaches. A young girl was saying a teary goodbye to her older brother. Two teenagers, presumably 6th years, play fighting after a summer of not seeing each other. There was a static energy in the air.

The silence, in the compartment, was occasionally broken by a breath or a movement. Everyone was anxiously awaiting their departure and the time was spent by either the tapping of a foot or gazing at the world beyond. When they did eventually start moving it came as a great relief to the inhabitants of the carriage.

Merlin was looking out the carriage when they started forward and hit his head against the frame as a result. _Ow_ _that ids going to leave a mark_ he thought.

"Do you know how long the journey is?" merlin asks his unanswered question.

"Two days," Arthur replied "why do you think we left two days before lessons start?"

Merlin shrugged he had not really thought about that. He has never been on a journey that long before and he wonders how the will sleep or eat, oh he did not even think about food. He has gone longer than two days without food but he would rather not.

"Do not worry they will let us stop for food later today." Gwen assures him seemingly reading his thoughts.

"They better, I am hungry already" _oh Arthur where does all that food go?_ Morgana thought.

"You should watch you intake there, you do not want to add another whole in that belt do you?" asked Merlin. Morgana snickered.

"Are you calling me Fat?" replied Arthur warningly

"No, merely cautioning you"

"I am fighting fit!"

"Sure you are."

Morgana thinks that this Merlin is good for Arthur, keeps his ego in check, makes sure there are no inflammations. They should keep him around.

"What hoses do you think you will be in?" Arthur poses to the coach at large.

"Hufflepuff" Gwen started "that is where my brother went when he was at Hogwarts"

"Your brother went?" Gwen nodded "what about your father?"

"My Father is a muggle, he did not go to Hogwarts, and I do not know about my mother she died when I was to young to ask." Gwen replied straightening herself up.

Her answer mad Arthur sorry he asked and he shifted awkwardly in his seat. She is obviously fond of he Father, that shows on her face, and her mother in undoubtedly a sore subject for her. _Why do I always say the wrong thing?_ He wondered to himself.

"I want to be in Gryffindor"

"Was your Father in there"

"No, no he was in Slytherin… what about you Merlin where do you want to be put in to?"

"Apparently like everything else, I have not really thought about it, and I have no ideas otherwise." _Wow I am ill prepared._

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They got food a few hours later, stopped at a tavern in some unknown town. The time spent in the carriages was with small talk. Are you feeling nervous? Do you like Quidditch? What is Quidditch? What? Those were just a few of the inquiries posed during those hours.

"…and the seeker…" Morgana stopped listening. She has heard Arthur's lectures about the sport too many times to count. It is not like she does not find the sport enjoyable, it is just that she would just rather be playing. Sadly, however, as a girl Uther never let her play saying that ladies are unfit for the sport.

Merlin was getting a headache, Arthur had been talking his ear off about Quidditch, it did not really sound like his thing, Will tried to get him to do some sports in the Ealdor, the results were… disastrous. With a few well placed nods and yes', Arthur was under the impression he was paying attention.

The four of them made a silent pact to stick together seeing as they only knew each other, barely (in some cases). They chose a table to the left of the door to avoid the scuffle that broke out on the other side. The first side was quieter but far from silent, there were couples seeking seclusion, people reading books, and other first years. Some sat in quiet open-mouthed awe, while others rambunctiously ran about and shouted.

"Can I get you anythin'?" the barmaid asked when she eventually got around.

"Can we have two mortew's, please and thank you"

"Trench, any way. Thanks"

"Same"

"And one frumenty, would you darling" a new comer came and dragged up a chair to the table. "Oh, and a glass of mead would not go unappreciated." He called after the barmaids retreating form. The boy looked around the table and smiled.

"Who are you?" Arthur looked confused and slightly affronted.

"Well aren't you rude." the boy said with a hint of a smile. "no 'Are you having a nice day' or 'yes please sit down' just questioning who I am." An evil grin took over his face "maybe I am the monster under your bed or perhaps… loch ness"

"His question was perfectly appropriate just because you do not want to answer it does not mean it was unprecedented" Gwen but in. the boys eyes immediately were drawn to her. Something in his gaze made her blush.

"Well who do we have here" he started "Your name is… Sophia, no not Sophia, Esmeralda, that's it. All bow to princess Esmeralda"

"I am afraid you are incorrect my name is Gwen"

"Are you sure"

"Positive"

"Oh well," the boy started "it was worth a shot. So, what are all of your names." He does another sweep of the table.

"But I asked you… you haven't yet" Arthur sputtered indignantly.

"Now now, I am a guest at this table. You would not dare deny a guest a simple request?" Arthur was not having it "Fine lrts have a you tell me yours all tell you mine kind or deal, all right?"

"Fine, I am Arthur this is Morgana, and that sack of potatoes over there is Merlin" Arthur said first gesturing to morgana who was on his right then to merlin who sat across from him.

"Sack of… what?" merlin spluttered into his cup. His ears going red.

"Potatoes Merlin, potatoes. You know the root, it grows in the ground, you eat it is really good." Arthur explained as though he was talking to a child.

"He knows what a potato is Arthur, his confusion lies in the why portion of your comment." Morgana starts "I can see why he is confuse considering you are much more like said sack, rather heavy with no brains to speak of." Everyone laughed at that one except Arthur who turned a rather unpleasant shad of red. "In other news, you know our names now, what is yours"

Unfortunately or fortunately, depends on how you look at it, their food came before the boy answered Morgana's question. And with a mouth full of food the

"My name, my pretty witty lady, is Gwaine"

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With bellies full of food and bags filled with bread and fruit they said their goodbyes to their dinner companion and made their way back to their carriage. Gwaine they soon found, was also an incoming first year, was a big joker and made all of them laugh, they also learned that he was a terrible flirt… at 11.

During dinner, though Gwaine did converse to the table as a whole the boys found themselves leaving the girls out, which was no problem for the girls as it provided them an opportunity to bond.

When they got to the coach they all were ready for sleep seeing as it was well past sundown. Thus a new problem presented in Merlin's mind. However no one seemed to be distressed by this.

"How is one supposed to sleep" Merlin asked sleepily

"Really have you never taken a long journey before?" Arthur replied with a question, rather obnoxiously I might add.

"No I have not and I would take it kindly if instead of derision I was met by an explanation thank you very much."

"You just sleep like you sit." Morgana answered saving both Arthur and Merlin from exasperation.

So they all sat down in their original seats quietly talking till the slowly jostling carriage lulled them to sleep. Gwen was the first to succumb to sleeps warm bosom, resting her head against the window frame. She was promptly then followed by Arthur whose head went straight back with mouth agape.

One could not tell who went to sleep first either Merlin or Morgana. All they know is that it happened nearly simultaneously, heads drawing ever nearer.

"Night Merlin." Ever closer.

"Gn'night Morg…" Drop.

Quite an eventful first day for the four of them, what with new friends and faces, and the excitement of a new adventure.

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"Merlin, hey Merlin, wake up!"

Merlin awoke with a jolt, jumping a couple inches above the seat cushion. This caused Morgana to wake up seeing as her head rested on Merlin's shoulder mere seconds before. Morgana muttered a word of disgruntled pain, while Merlin blushed scarlet. Arthur sat back with a smug smirk playing his face.

"You clotpole, what was that for?" Arthur just sat there looking innocent, but his eyes flashed to Morgana then back to Merlin.

"I thought you might have wanted a spot of breakfast but if not then by all means sleep the day away"

Glancing out the window Morgana saw a red sun just peeking out from the top of a dark dense forest, and if she tried hard enough she could just hear the birds over the rumbling and clip-clopping of the carriages. Inside the coach she noticed that all of them were awake and in the case of Arthur already delving into their bags of food from last night.

Within Half an hour they were all alert and breakfasted. More then half of Arthur's bag was gone, even though they had one other meal to get through, but then again Arthur had never been one for potion control.

"We are arriving at Hogwarts today." Arthur's pale skin seemed pinkish in the morning sun. No one felt the need to answer, they knew it to be true and they were all an uncomfortable mixture of excitement and nerves.

As the sun rose ever so higher in the sky the inhabitants of the carriage sat in companionable silence. It was only broken it to comment on how lovely the weather is or to point out a particularly munificent stretch of landscape.

When the sun reached the middle of the sky signifying midday the silence was broken and the food was eaten. Merlin ate the rest of the contents in his bag which consisted of a fist sized loaf of bread and a single apple. Morgana on the other had two loafs of bread (she split one with Arthur) and three lonesome loose grapes.

They talked about their families and homes this time around. Gwen was the first to share about her home life.

"… Elyan, that is my brother, reckons she was a which, but I don't know, and I guess I never will, she died before my brother got his letter. I was about three when she it happened, a nasty wave of the plague that's what did her in." she ended mournfully "what about you lot any stories? You Merlin what d'you got"

"Nothin' much about me I guess. I came from a small farming village, bet you never heard of it, um… my mom does not have magic but my dad did, I don't know if he was any good or not I never met him. So… Yeah that is me." He said awkwardly. "Arthur? Morgana?"

"Well, I grew up my whole life in Camelot-"

"As prince of Camelot, Arthur. Where is your usual bravado?"

"Right yeah" He shifted awkwardly in his seat. "My mother died shortly after I was born, but other than that I trained in the was of the sword. And a few years ago Morgana came to live with my father and me. Morgana's turn!" _I called the Prince of Camelot a clotpole this morning._

"As Arthur said I live with him and his father, have for the pass three years"

"Why do you live with the King?"

"I am his Ward" she stated simply an let the subject drop.

Two hours later they changed into their school robes, plain sleek black. They were 45 minutes away from Hogsmeade, the wizarding town adjacent to the school, from there the first years will continue the journey by boat while the other students will carry on in carriages.

The air inside the couch grew static as the silence wore on since luncheon. Morgana was not talking to anyone but acted as if nothing was out of sorts. There were a few attempts at conversation during their remaining time in the carriage but all fell flat. Before exiting the carriage they all vowed to stick together, at least for the time being.

They all got into the same boat and settled in as they were being lead by a grizzled old man with a pointed face and bushy eyebrows. The Ride over to the castle was rather uneventful, filled with the nervous murmurs of children and occasionally a loud laugh, Merlin suspected that to be Gwaine as did the rest of the boat. When they got there they were lead through two grand oak doors and filed into a room.

"Ahh the first years" they all spun around by the sound of a voice. Standing in the doorway to the room was a stout old man with shoulder length gray/white hair. "I am Gaius, the deputy head master of Hogwarts. Come with me to the great hall and get you sorted. Get into a line."

They followed the man, Gaius, into the great hall and in the middle there was a stool and on the stool rested an old hat.

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Once the hat finished it's most peculiar song names were called to the hat.

"… Ambrosius, Merlin" Merlin walked up to the stool and sat down as he saw others do. He felt the hat sink down to his ears and…

"Slytherin" the hat called out almost instantaneously, a loud roar came from the Slytherin table but merlin could hardly heat it over the pounding in his ears as he made his way to sit a t the table.

A few more names were read then…

"De Lyonesse, Guinevere"

"Hufflepuff"

Morgana was a few after Gwen.

"Le Fey, Morgan"

"Ravenclaw"

A 'Lotsson, Gwaine' was sorted into Gryffindor right after Morgana. The m's, n's,o's were read off and then finally It was Arthur's turn to get sorted.

"Pendragon, Arthur" with sweaty palms and shaky knees Arthur made his way to the stool and sat down. When the hat was placed on his head it took it's sweet time, then…

"Gryffindor" and Arthur went to join the roaring Gryffindors with a wide smile on his face. He sat with Gwaine and together clapped and cheered for the remaining first years.

All in all, everyone was very happy with their houses and ate till there stomach could burst. The whole school was so enraptured by the beginning of the year feast no one noticed that they were being watched by eyes of filled with ill intent.

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**A/N: Please excuse any historical inaccuracies.**

**A question was posed about the summary, particularly regarding the rules bit. What I ment by that is It follows the history of Hogwarts and the wizarding world from HP (mostly) but the characters are somewhat like they are in the show namely Uther is a Jerk wad.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**Adieu **


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